now or never [reddie au]

13 (tw: slurs)

Stan was felt upset, angry, horrified, and confused all at once.

As he was in the bathroom, he saw writing on the stall that read,"Richie Tozier sucks flamer cock".

As far as Stan knew, he was the only Jewish- or, he used to be, anyway- student at Derry High School, so that couldn't have been about anyone else. Of course, he wasn't dating Richie, so he wasn't as worried about those rumors. He just didn't want to be outed to the whole school because of some idiot vandalizing the bathroom.

Stan decides to sit in the library instead of the cafeteria. He was already on the verge of tears, and although being comforted by his friends would be nice, he knew that the second they ask him what's wrong, he'll cry even more.

Bill had noticed that Stan was taking a while in the bathroom and after what had happened last night, he was worried. He wondered if Stan was avoiding him because of it. Bill texts Eddie and tells him to go to the bathroom with him to check on Stan.

A few seconds later, Eddie looks up at Bill before they stand up from the table. "Where are you going?," Beverly asks Eddie. "I just have to go to the bathroom.," Eddie answers.

"I thought you didn't like using the school bathrooms.," Richie says, confused.

"Don't worry about it.," Eddie says to Richie before leaving with Bill. They make their way to the bathroom and enter. All of the stalls were empty. They looked in each one just to be sure when Eddie sees what Stan saw on the wall earlier. "Bill?," Eddie gets Bill's attention and Bill looks at the wall. "G-Go get Richie.," Bill tells Eddie. While Eddie leaves, Bill texts Stan and asks him where he is.

"Richie, come with me!," Eddie grabs Richie's wrist and pulls him out of his chair. "What? Why?," Richie asks as Eddie pulls him to the bathroom.

They enter and Eddie shows Richie the writing, not letting go of his wrist. "Okay?," Richie shrugs, "People do shit like that all the time."

"Richie.," Bill says, "St-Stan's not out t-t-to anyone but us."

"Oh shit, you're right.," Richie looks down at Eddie's hand wrapped around his wrist. Eddie notices him looking and assumes Richie wants him to let go, so he does. Richie hesitates, then slowly grabs Eddie's hand again,  intertwining their fingers with his. They avoided making eye contact with each other because they were both blushing.

Bill gets a text back from Stan, saying he's in the library. "Guys, he's in th-the library.," Bill tells them, not noticing Richie and Eddie's hands. "Oh, okay.," Richie slowly lets go of Eddie's hand, "Let's go get him then."

They leave the bathroom and Eddie texts Beverly, telling her that it might be a while before they got back, and he wanted to tell her something as soon as possible. They go to the library and walk in. Stan was one of the only few people in the library, and sat at a round table by himself.

As they approach the table, they saw that Stan was reading a book about birds. Stan loved bird watching. Before he stopped practicing his religion, he would get in arguments with his dad over it all the time. He would then go to the attic, climb out of the window, sit on the roof and bird watch. It always calmed him down and made him feel better.

Richie sits down on one side of Stan, and Bill sits on the other side. Eddie sits on the other side of Richie. Stan kept his eyes on his book because he knew it was obvious that he had been crying and he didn't want them to bring it up. This didn't stop Richie from asking, "Stan, what happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine.," Stan says softly, "I just really want to go home already."

"D-Did you see B-B-Bowers or anything?," Bill asks, putting his hand on Stan's back. Stan jumps a little before blushing, "No, I didn't." Bill softly rubs Stan's back, trying to comfort him. Richie and Eddie look at each other. Stan closes his book and sets it on the table. He then folds his arms on the table and lays his head down.

Richie and Eddie decide to go back to the cafeteria and leave Stan and Bill alone for a little while. Between the fact that Stan had been crying and Bill had been rubbing his back, Stan felt exhausted and fell asleep. Bill turns so he's sitting sideways in his chair and rests his chin on Stan's shoulder.

Bill had almost forgotten that they were at school until he sees Henry and his friends walk by the library. Bill panics and sits up before they saw him. He then taps Stan's shoulder to wake him up. Stan looks at him and asks, "What time is it?"

"Almost f-fifth period.," Bill answers. "I don't want to go.," Stan groans, "My head hurts and I really don't want anyone talking to me."

"L-L-Let's leave then.," Bill suggests. Bill and Stan weren't the type of people to skip school, but Stan didn't feel good and Bill just wanted to spend a little more time with him.

"Are you sure you want to?," Stan asks Bill. Bill nods, "W-We should hurry, though. Before the b-b-bell rings." Stan puts the book he was reading back on the shelf where he found it before they sneak out to the parking lot, where Bill's car is. "Where do you want t-to go?," Bill asks.

"We can go to my house if you want.," Stan shrugs, "My dad shouldn't be home right now."

"Okay.," Bill says, "Th-That sounds fine to me."

Bill drives to Stan's house. There weren't any cars in the driveway, meaning his dad thankfully wasn't home. They got out of Bill's car and Bill follows Stan through his house, up to the attic, and out the window to sit on the roof with him.

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hey guys! i wanted to add a little thing from it chapter 2 that someone pointed out on tiktok and it will make sense in the next chapter or two i promise lmaooo also i wanted to include more stenbrough in this chapter :))) i'll update as soon as i can so yall arent confused about the bathroom thing 💀